Public Transport

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) was launched in December 2005 to improve the quality of life in Indian cities. The seven year scheme had a whopping Rs 100,000 crore in its kitty to develop infrastructure and services – water supply, sanitation and sewerage, urban transport and integrated slum development – in 63 cities. The idea was to provide incentives to state governments and city administrations to carry out urban reforms.

CSE's latest book in its Right to Clean Air Campaign series. We have more roads and flyovers than ever before to address our transportation worries. But our cities continue to be gridlocked, with traffic at a virtual standstill as private vehicles hugely outnumber our public transport options. It is time to set new terms of action, make our cities more walkable, review our pollution and congestion control strategies…

There I was, zipping down bustling Ahmedabad. The bus stopped at a station, designed so the doors of the bus and the station open simultaneously to let passengers out and in. People were walking to the station, buying tickets and waiting. A notice flashed when the next bus would arrive. Each bus has a GPS device that transmits its movements to a spiffy control room inside the city corporation. You know when the next bus will come. It will be on time.